Game of Drones

Living History Presentation

Game of Drones
by Rich Martindell

Saturday, June 28th, 2025

Author Rich Martindell, a former Air Force fighter pilot, transitioned to “fly” MQ-9 Reaper drones, and captured in his book Game of Drones, his experiences and impressions along the way. The Wing hosted Rich, who compared his experiences of flying the F-4 and F-15 in the Air Force with flying the MQ-9 on military missions as a civilian contract pilot. Rich addressed the differences between flying manned and unmanned aircraft in military operations as well as the reasons drone operators can suffer PTSD when flying from the safe confines of a control van miles out of harm’s way. Watch the entire presentation by clicking on the video link above.